Women’s Track and Field Finishes Third at Utica Holiday Classic

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State graduate student Mia McDonald (Westfield, Mass.) and sophomore Vicky Marin (Greenfield, Mass.) each won individual events to lead the Owls to a third-place finish at the Utica Holiday Classic from Utica, New York on Saturday.

McDonald led the pack in the 5000, crossing the finish line at a time of 18:52.81. The MASCAC Track Athlete of the Week outpaced her nearest competitor by 41 seconds and shattered her own personal record by 62 seconds.

Marin scored points in four separate events for the Owls, collecting a first-place finish in the triple jump at a distance of 10.92m. The conference's Field Athlete of the Week also tied her PR in the long jump, registering a second-place mark in the event (5.31m) while also placing third in the high jump (1.52). On the track, Marin also scored in the 60-meter hurdles by finishing third with a time of 9.60 seconds. Across all four events, Marin registered a total of 31.5 points for the Owls which as a team compiled 72.5 points.

Sophomore Ariann LeCours (Haverhill, Mass.) added a third-place finish in the mile run by crossing the tape with a time of 5:37.73 to set a personal record.

Junior Paige Moroney (Sterling, Mass.) and first-year Eliza Lee (Walpole, Mass.) each recorded fourth place marks in their respective events. Moroney sprinted to a personal-best time during the 60-meter dash prelims (8.16), then topped that in the final with a mark of 8.15 seconds. Lee lapped the track in the 800-meter run (2:38.57).

Sophomores' Grace Poplawski (Rowe, Mass.) and Molly Kennedy (West Springfield, Mass.) also set personal-best times in the 5000.

As a team, the Owls trailed only Cortland and Utica in the meet, and edged out RPI for a top-three finish.

Westfield will not return to the oval arena until after the New Year as the Owls will travel back to Springfield College for the Massasoit Classic from Springfield, Mass. on Saturday, January 21.